Tracy Lyn Lamb, the award-winning executive director of NEWS, an organization providing domestic violence and sexual abuse services in California’s Napa Valley, has been named the 2019 Muskegon Community College Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.
Lamb will be honored on Tuesday, May 7, at the Alumni Awards Dinner on campus and will address this year’s graduates on Wednesday evening, May 8, at the 2019 MCC Commencement in L.C. Walker Arena.
A Muskegon native, Lamb attended MCC from 1979 to 1983, when she graduated with an associate’s degree.
“When I came to MCC I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my academic ability,” recounted Lamb. “In high school, no one said to me, ‘Tracy, you are college material.’ I didn’t even consider applying to four-year institutions. I was the first in my family to attend college and Muskegon Community College felt like a safe place to start. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.”
After MCC, Lamb earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Western Michigan University.
She began her career as a crime victim advocate, then became a program manager and spent two years in Sonoma County (CA) District Attorney’s Office.
Lamb has been the executive director of NEWS since 2005. With its dedicated group of staff and volunteer domestic violence and sexual assault counselors, NEWS – an acronym standing for Nurturing, Empowerment, Worth and Safety – provides direct client services and shelter 24/7 to approximately 1,300 annually. NEWS also offers preventative education and outreach programs.
This past year, Lamb has received the Excellence in Leadership Award from The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership. In 2016, she received the Napa Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year Award. That same year, she was recognized by the Hispanic Network with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lamb serves on the Board of Directors for the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the only professional organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of and supporting the work of rape crisis centers which operate independently throughout California.
She was successful in obtaining a $625,000 grant for NEWS Domestic Violence Housing First, which has helped domestic violence survivors move into apartments and prevented homelessness among others. She serves as co-chair of the Economic Self Sufficiency Committee focused on issues aimed at creating equity and quality of life. She is a member of the Napa County Child Abuse Prevention Council Steering Committee.
In partnership with On The Move, Lamb received a $50,000 grant from Raliance, an agency funded by the National Football League (NFL) and aimed at ending sexual violence in one generation. She used the funds to create a one-year youth leadership cohort for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Lamb was also instrumental in launching a primary prevention program called “NEWS About Sports,” which involves school athletic directors, coaches and student athletes working to promote gender equity, bystander training, and positive, healthy relationships.